Broadhead sharpening for newbies
Equipment
This is meant to help those that don’t know how to sharpen their heads or have never tried. I’m not a master sharpener but this is a quick, easy, and dirty way to get a Broadhead hair popping sharp. It works on out of the package heads, not so much on dulled or damaged heads from shooting.
***This is a great way to sharpen out of the package heads that aren’t shaving sharp***
A pair of needle nose pliers are a must, and the ones on a leatherman work the best. Most needle nose are fat at the end, so you can get as shallow of an angle on the leather strop. The more you can “lay down” the blade the better.
I do 25 strops on each side, then 20, then 15, 10, 5 and 2. That’s it. Easy peasy!
As far as pressure I apply medium pressure. Not so hard it’s pushing into the leather or making your knuckles white from pushing, but not so light that it takes forever. After finishing all the strokes, you should see a start to the mirror finish.
If you’re a visual guy, here’s a rudimentary YouTube video I made.
Please feel free to add to this post or correct anything I’m doing wrong!
I’m getting an error when trying to post the link to amazon for the strop. 9.95. Can’t go wrong!
https://www.amazon.com/BeaverCraft-Sharpening-Double-Sided-Stropping-Polishing/dp/B07941KX8R/ref=mp_s_a_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=leather+strops+for+sharpening+knives&qid=1594683580&sprefix=leather+str&sr=8-4
Ground hunter, the problem with replaceable blades is that most of them aren’t sharp. The heads I just sharpened were out of the package and wouldn’t cut paper or shave hair.
I would like to add that coating the leather strop with a honing paste even makes the blade even sharper.
Here’s a picture of the strop and compound. Speeds up the process!
Here’s a picture of the strop and compound. Speeds up the process!
Buffalo, good point. The strop I posted comes with green compound.
Yeah. Just buy a new knife when yours gets dull.
Only two heads I've received that were sharp when I got them new were the Iron Will and the Valkyrie Jaggers. Every other head ( and I've shot a crap-ton ) need touching up even when new. A strop does it for most " new" heads, if you don't know how to sharpen, you are at quite the disadvantage.
The 8" sandpaper and pressed paper buffing wheels on a bench buffer/grinder make it so just about anyone that can walk and chew gum at the same time, can sharpen stuff.
I would shoot my broad heads to get them all tuned up then sharpen back in to razors and go hunt
People who “just buy new ones” must not shoot broad heads much
I found the KME broad head sharpener to be an invaluable piece of gear
Crock sticks been working for me for about 33 years now.
a locking needle nose plier is nice for this method if you have one
Not really a newbie, but I added to favorites! Great thread!
Great way to learn how to sharpen your broadheads.
I use different sharpening tactics for different types of broadheads. I don’t use any replaceable blade heads.
The broadheads I use all need sharpening before use. Nowhere near sharp enough out of the box (off the card). Most need touch up through the season as well.
Use the KME for all my 2-blade heads - double and single bevel. Have some big diamond stones followed by a hard Arkansas oil stone. They don’t really need any more after the oil stone but I will sometimes finish them with a leather strop and polishing compound. The KME sharpener should work for those replaceable blades.
For 3-blade broadheads, I use a 16” mill bastard file and lay the broadhead flat for two blades. Run the two blades till the machine marks are off then repeat for all 3 sides and the edge starts curling. Then take off the curl edge with a medium diamond stone and finish on the hard Arkansas oil stone.
Once you have the initial sharpening done - KME 25 degree angle on the two blades or machine marks off the 3-blades, touch up is fast unless they are really dinged up.
Sharpening of any cutting edge should be done TOWARD the edge, as if trying to slice a thin layer off the surface of the stone. Otherwise you get a "wire edge", or burr, instead of a razor sharp edge. 15 to 20 degrees is preferable, same as a quality knife blade.
I've never understood how, or why.... broadheads like Montec are considered sharp. By instructions from the manufacturer, they are "sharpened" on a 60 degree angle! I guess you could hone them to a very slick edge and they would cut skin, and penetrate ok. But I'm not sure they could ever be shaving sharp under any conditions. I know they will kill animals, but they cannot be shaving sharp....not on a 60 degree angle.
Here is what I use on fixed blade heads and I can get a 2 or 4 blade head shaving sharp in under 2 minutes and resharpen them even faster.
That's what I always used on my Zwickeys, Rock. No problem getting a great edge!
